Memories of a Feisty Man (Axel x Reader)
by JBags973
Summary: True, you always believed in love at first sight. You never though you would meet yours in high school, though. Or that it would be so hard for him to see that you're the one.
1. Chapter 1

You always had a thing for bad boys. Ok, maybe not BAD boys, but something about the way some guys walk and talk and dress…you could never resist it. That's why when you were a freshman at Destiny High, and you saw that spiky red hair, you knew that you wanted him. The first day of school, he wore red skinny jeans (with rips I might add), a grey wife beater under a black zip-up hoodie, and yellow high tops. Not to mention the gloves that stopped at the fingertips and the dog collar around his neck. Eccentric? A little. Your friends' type? Definitely not. But to you? Perfect. Later you would have to see if he was in any of your classes. For now, however, you were contempt to staring at him with your (e/c) eyes.

Homeroom was uneventful, especially because **he** wasn't there. The bell rang and you began heading to your next class. That's when you spotted him. His homeroom was just a few rooms down the hall from yours. If you tried to you could easily catch up to him. But unfortunately, your personality didn't allow you to simply waltz right up to people and strike up a conversation. Once you got to know people, you were very outgoing, but with strangers…not a chance. Just as you began fantasizing your first conversation with him, the PA system came on.

"Axel Ryder, please report down to the office. Axel Ryder."

As you looked back to your spiky haired crush, he threw his arms in the air ad fell to his knees…obviously trying to get everyone's full attention.

"What the hell!" he shouted. "My first freaking day as a senior and they're already getting on my case!"

Everyone else started cracking up, knowing that Axel would get called down eventually, but you just stood there in shock. He was a senior? All your fantasies floated out the window, and you continued to your next class.

Gym classs, last period, favorite class. Depending on which elective you chose, you could get mixed in with different grades, some classes with all four. Your class actually consisted of freshman, sophomores, and seniors. It was a small class, so you got to know everyone's name. There were the sophomores: Roxas, Xion, Zexion, Ventus, Vanitas, Sora, and Kairi. And then the seniors: Saϊx, Demyx, and Riku. Oh, and Axel, of course. Why else would it be your favorite class? And, believe it or not, you were the only freshman. You did have others in your class before, but they all switched into their friends' classes before the school year even started. Not that you minded, everyone seemed nice enough…especially Sora. As soon as he realized you were the only freshman, he bounced right over to you.

"Hi! My name's Sora. I noticed you were the only freshman. Do you have any friends in this class? Or did you? They may have switched out. Do you want to switch out? I wouldn't. Everyone here is really nice! Well, maybe not _everyone_. Almost eve-"

You just stood there the whole time, your eyes getting wider with every sentence he seemed to squeeze out. Finally, Riku strolled over and threw his hand over Sora's face.

"Sora, maybe f you gave her a second to answer, you two could have a nice conversation," Riku huffed. Then, clearing his throat, he turned toward you. "Sorry about Sora. I still haven't been able to find the off switch on him. Once you get to know him, though, he's only slightly annoying."

At that point, Sora had had enough, and he dragged Riku over to the wrestling mat so he could, safely, destroy him. Glancing over at Axel, you thought you caught a glimpse of something on his pants. That is, until Mr. Leon came into your line of view.

"Hi there, you must be the lone freshman in my class. Unfortunately, I recognize all the other…wonderful students in this class, so I must know them. Anyway, considering today the first day, I won't make the class change into gym clothes. Instead, if you could go grab two little balls in there, we can play a quick game of capture the flag before school ends." As he finished, he pointed at a door to the other side of the gym. You gave him a quick salute, and began to jog over there.

Looking around, you realized that getting the balls wouldn't be as easy as you thought. _'Who puts tennis balls on the top shelf?' _you thought to yourself. _'Well, actually, I think most people do…'_ Having a conversation with yourself wasn't helping you retrieve the balls, so you glanced sround to see if there was a step stool. _'Nope, guess not. Silly me, thinking there was a stool in a supply closet. Guess there's only one thing left to do.'_ Nodding to yourself, you began to climb on the bottom shelf so that you could reach the top.

You wish you could've said you almost had it, but you weren't even close when you began to slip. In a fleeting moment, just before you fell, you thought to yourself, _'There were dirty shirts under me, weren't there…' _The next moment, you were covered by not just those, but also miscellaneous balls and equipment. You sighed, and then you heard the door open.

"Hey, fresh-meat, Squall sent me to help y-." The voice stopped suddenly when they saw you. You looked over to them, every inch of your face showing depression and embarrassment. Seeing his expression of shock, you flashed a big smile at him, and then tried to get up.

'_Of course it would be the one guy I already feel like an idiot in front of, without falling into gross gym stuff,' _you thought to yourself as you also tried to ponder what Axel must think of you now. That's when you saw a hand stick out in front of you. You looked up, finding those emerald eyes looking softly at you.

"Come on, let me help you up. What were you thinking anyway, trying to climb the shelf? If you waited two more seconds, I could've helped you," Axel said, finally releasing you from the cage of smelly equipment and clothes.

"Ya, ya. Thanks Axel," you said as you bent down to wipe your pants. And that's when you noticed Axel's pants. You began laughing so hard, you were afraid you might fall over again. Tears started streaming down your face as Axel yelled.

"I just helped you up and didn't even laugh at you, and now you're laughing your freaking face off at me! What gives!?"

You took a couple more seconds and composed yourself. Finally, you looked the red-head right in the eyes and said, "Is that why you got called down to the office?" Seeing the confusion in his eyes, you pointed at his pants. As you recalled, they were ripped jeans. Apparently, that goes against the school dress code, so the office had Axel put duct tape over all the rips in his jeans. You don't know how you didn't notice it before.

He looked down and giggled a little to himself, his face softening. "Ya, freaking teachers will find anything to make my life miserable." You both laughed a little more, and then walked out to the gym (after Axel got the balls, of course). Just before making it back to the class, Axel gave you a little push. You looked at him, and saw a smug smirk on his face. "You're not half-bad kid. Y'know, for a freshman."

"Gee, thanks Axel," you responded.

"Did I sense a hint of sarcasm in that?" he asked, his smile growing.

"No, not at all! I have no idea what you're talking about!" you replied, using as much sarcasm as possible. The feisty senior pushed you again, this time running off to the class, laughing the whole way.

'_This should be an interesting year,' _you thought, smiling huge and running after your crush.


	2. Chapter 2

_'Damn. This year is moving by way too fast,'_ you thought to yourself. It's already the week before Christmas vacation. You had made a few friends in your other classes, mostly so that you wouldn't be the odd one out when you were told to pick a partner for a project, but the people who you felt really comfortable with were your older friends in gym class. They always seemed the most real to you, and you really enjoyed their company. Each one had such a different personality, you couldn't get over it!

You were walking down the hall to gym when you heard a big bang behind you. "What the heck was that..." you mumbled to yourself as you turned around. "Oh no."

It was impossible to mistake the boy who had face planted onto the hard concrete floor. You jogged over to the mess of chocolate brown hair as it began to stir. You knelt down beside Sora and started helping him up.

"Sora, how did you trip over nothing?" You asked, holding back a laugh, once he finally got up.

"Well, I saw you and was going to remind you that it was volleyball week in gym-" "Which I already know because you haven't shut up about it since last week" "-and that's when I tripped over..." Sora stopped and looked around. "Well, I guess when I tripped over my feet," he finally concluded with a sheepish smile.

"C'mon, we're gonna be late," you said, making your way towards the gym. Sora caught up to and nudged you, whispering, "Ya, don't wanna keep your man waiting." You looked at him in shock as he winked at you.

"What man? Honestly Sora, I think you say things just to confuse me."

"Alright. Fine. Keep your feelings to yourself. But when you want to confess your love to a certain fiery red head, you just come find me!" He smiled wickedly, spun on his feet, and sprinted the rest of the way to the gym.

_'What the hell!? He knows!? But he's so oblivious! If he knows, then the whole fricken' gym class must know. This is gonna be a rough week,'_ you think sadly as you finally approach the gym.

You walk in, only to be grabbed and pulled roughly into the locker room. You get pushed against the wall, and just as you are about to speak, a finger is pressed to your lips.

"We need to talk," a certain black haired girl demanded as she stared you in the eyes.

"I was going to come into the locker room anyways. You didn't have to kidnap me," you huffed as you gathered yourself together_. 'I was kinda hoping it was someone else who pulled me into the locker room...NO, bad (y/n)! Don't think dirty thoughts like that!'_

"Hello! Earth to (y/n)! Can you please focus, we have to talk about something important...OOHH, I see that look on your face! I bet you were thinking about you know who; the certain someone who our whole conversation is going to be about," she said as she gave you a sly smile.

"W-What are you talking about? You and Sora are off your rockers. I'm just gonna go change now," you stuttered as you tried to break free of her grip.

"(Y/n), seriously, look at me. Everyone knows that you like Axel. Well, everyone except for him, because he's stupid. But still, we were all talking-" "When?! Who's 'all'?!" "-AND we think that you should confess your feelings for him."

"...But..." You were fighting with yourself, unsure if you wanted to show your vulnerability to Xion. Finally, you decided you could put your trust in her. "What if he doesn't like me back Xion. I love being friends with all of you, and I don't want to ruin our friendship by me being the awkward one who loves one of our friends..." You sniffled a little as she finally let go of you.

"I really do believe he likes you back. I don't think he knows it yet though. That's why you have to be the one who makes the first move, y'know? He's afraid of his feelings, but if he knows you feel the same, then maybe he will open up to you. Trust me, Roxas and I have been friends with him for a long time, and we both agree that he really likes you."

You stand there for a couple of seconds, thinking about what Xion just said. _'I've never confessed my feelings for anyone... Maybe it's time I got over my fear... I really do like him...'_ You sighed as you finally made up your mind.

"Ok Xion, I think you're right. It might not happen right away, but I know that I have to confess to him, and I will!" You triumphed excitedly.

"That's the spirit! I'm glad I got through to you! Everyone will be SO happy! Oh, shoot, we still have to get changed! Don't want to miss 'volleyball week'!" She imitated Sora as she did this, for that was all you had been hearing for a long time.

"Haha, ya, you're right."

You and Xion dress quickly and then race out to the gym. You take a quick peek around and see Axel talking to Saïx. Figures, those two were always together. Either that or Axel, Roxas, and Xion were standing together. Sometimes Axel tried to combine his two close groups of friends, but they just didn't really seem to enjoy it too much. Not that they didn't like each other, they just had nothing in common.

You were too busy making googley eyes at your crush that you didn't notice Xion walk away from you. Xion sat down and began to stretch. She wanted to be sure she kicked Sora's ass in volleyball so that he might actually stop talking about it. She looked up and saw Roxas coming over to her. She smiled and waved, but her smile slowly faded as she saw the look on his face. Utter fear. He slid down in front of her and grabbed her face in his hands.

"Xion!" He whispered as loud as he could. "Please tell me you didn't have that conversation with (y/n) that we talked about!"

"Of course I did!" She whispered loudly, joining in on the art of whisper-yelling. "Why? We both agreed that today was a good day because it's the beginning of the week so now she has all week to conf-" She was cut off by Roxas's hand over her mouth.

"I know what we agreed on but please listen to me. I heard a rumor that Axel and Larxene, that gross slutty senior, are a couple now! I haven't had the chance to talk to Axel about it because he's been with Saïx and I want to ask him when he's alone."

"What?! Oh poop... Well, what are you looking at me for?! Go tell (y/n) so that she doesn't make a fool of herself!" Xion pushed Roxas towards you as she was yelling at him. He finally stumbled next to you, but just stood there. He turned around, giving Xion a confused and strained face. She gave him a thumbs up and waved him on.

Taking a deep breath, he turned towards you. "H-Hey (y/n). I have to tell you something..."

"Sure, anything," you replied, not knowing the heartbreak that was coming. Xion watched as your face turned from a happy curiosity, to a look of confusion, and then as it fell, your (h/c) hair covering your face.

You didn't know what to say. You felt a hand on your shoulder. You looked up into Roxas's sweet blue eyes. "(Y/n)... I'm really sorry."

You knew it wasn't his fault, and you didn't always like to show when you were sad. So you gave him a fake smile, patted his hand, and then walked over to Mr. Leon to wait for instructions. He soon called everyone over.

Someone ruffled your hair. "Hey kid, long time no see. Watch this, I bet Squall is gonna put us on the same team." You knew who it was, by the voice and the size of the hand on your head. It was Axel. You didn't even acknowledge him. Just kept looking at your teacher.

"Alright everyone! Listen up! These are going to be your teams for the rest of the week. Roxas, Xion, Sora, Demyx, Saïx and Zexion are team 1. Team 2 is Kairi, Riku, Ventus, Vanitas, Axel and (y/n). Ok? Good. Now go set up and we will start with team 1 serving." Mr. Leon clapped his hands to signal for everyone to go.

"Haha! See what I told you! I knew we would be on the same team! Let's crush them!" He looked at the other team while putting his hand out for you to high five. You looked at it for a second, and then walked over to the rest of your team. Axel saw you out of the corner of his eyes and realized you didn't high five him. "What's her problem?" He mumbled to himself as he walked over to your team.

Riku gave everyone positions, and you grunted when you realized he put you next to Axel. Demyx, who was going to serve, was asking Mr. Leon something, so everyone was waiting until he was done. Axel took this opportunity to try to figure out what 'your problem' was.

"(Y/n), what's going on? You never deny my high fives, or deny talking to me for that matter. Tell me what's eating you."

You couldn't take it anymore. "Oh, I don't know Axel! Why don't you ask anyone else in the entire school, because I'm sure they know!"

"..." Axel looked at you, honestly having no idea what you were talking about. "You're gonna have to help me out a little (y/n), I don't know what you're talking about."

"Right right. You must be too busy sucking Larxene's face to hear everyone talking about you two going out." You were now staring at him, trying to melt him with your death stare. His emerald eyes widened. While you two were having a stare down, Demyx was setting up to serve. Neither of you noticed though.

"What? Where did you hear that? (Y/n), I nev-" **"(Y/N)! LOOK OUT!"** Demyx yelled as he watched in horror as the ball whizzed right towards your head. Without even looking away from Axel, you ducked in time to have the ball narrowly miss your head. Everyone else was either relieved or impressed that the ball missed you, while Axel, being the dope he is, started laughing hysterically.

"You didn't even break fucking eye contact (y/n)! I can't believe that just happened!" Axel was nearly in tears he was laughing so hard.

What he didn't notice was that you _were_ in tears. He was _laughing_ at you. You were already heartbroken, and now he's _laughing_ at you. That was the last straw. Before you even realized what you were doing, you walked right up to his idiotic face, waited for him to look at you, and gave him the hardest slap you could muster. Everyone stared in shock, and Axel raised his hand to his cheek.

"FUCK YOU!"

With that, you stormed out of the gym. 


	3. Chapter 3

You stormed through the halls, your anger practically emanating off you. Your (e/c) eyes were puffy from all the crying. You couldn't stop the tears, no matter how hard you tried. Wiping your face aggressively, you thought about where you were going to go.

_'Come to think of it, where am I now?'_ You look up and find yourself on the first floor near the stairs. Making up your mind, you decide that under the stairs is a good place to hide, so you crawl behind them. You just don't want to be around anyone right now, especially that **jerk**. _'Who does he think he is anyways? Laughing at me...idiot...' _You continue to think thoughts like this as your soft cries echo off the staircase and fill your ears with your own sorrow.

~Scene change to gym~

Axel was still frozen in place, his hand resting on his shocked face. "Wha...what the hell did I do..."

Saïx and Roxas, both concerned about their friend, quickly hurried over to Axel. Axel slowly looked up at the both of them, puppy-dog eyes and all. "Guys, I really don't know...don't know what I did wrong..."

After exchanging worried glances, Saïx spoke up. "I'm sorry Axel, I don't know either."

Roxas shifted uncomfortably next to him, avoiding eye contact. Axel noticed his strange behavior. He let out a barely even audible "Rox?", his voice hoarse. Roxas sighed, still not looking at Axel, and began to talk.

"Well, I heard a rumor that you and Larxene were going out-" "AND YOU BELIEVED THAT SHIT! WHY THE FUCK WOULD I DATE HER!" Axel exploded on Roxas. Then, after thinking about what Roxas said, he looked at him with those eyes again, his voice now cracking, and whimpered, "Roxas, please tell me you didn't tell (y/n) that crap. Please please please tell me you know me better than that and you didn't fucking tell her, that that's not why she slapped me. Please."

Roxas finally looked over at Axel, his big blue eyes full of sadness. "..." He took a deep breath. "Ax, I'm sor-" Axel didn't even let him finish. He shoved Roxas or of the way and stomped right up to Mr. Leon, who was talking to Xion and Kairi.

"I think (y/n) needs the comfort of one of her gal pals right now, so considering you two are the only girls, I'm trusting you to find her, make her feel better, anything else you can think of to help her. Also, I think you should - uh oh, here comes Axel. Axel, let me finish my conversation first and then I'll talk to-" "I want to help go look for her," Axel cut in.

Leon pondered it, and then decided. "I don't think that's a good idea; she seems pretty upset with you."

Axel, reaching his wits end, turned around and stomped over to the wall. Everyone stared at him as his shoulders heaved up, taking in a deep breath, and then as he released his frustration with a right hook to the wall. Everyone stared in shock, seeing that he actually made a hole in the wall...the **concrete** wall.

Axel, his body heating up by the second, spun around and shouted, "FUCK YOU SQUALL! FUCK ALL OF YOU! I FUCKING HATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! I FINALLY FIND SOMEONE NICE AND ALL YOU FUCKING BASTARDS TRY TO RUIN IT FOR ME! WELL GET THIS SQUALL. I DONT GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU SAY! I'M GOING TO GO FIND (Y/N), AND THERE'S NOTHING ANY OF YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!" And with that, he stormed out of the gym.

Vanitas, being the closest to the door, looked over at the handle. "Shit. Ven, check this out. He actually melted the handle." Everyone crowded around, looking at the door handle. It did indeed look like it had been under intense heat, like it was under an actual fire.

"Oh no. What've I done," Roxas mumbled.

~To the hallways~

"Who do they think they are?! Well, I know who they are! They're all ass holes..." Axel murmured to himself. "I'll find her... I'll find her, and I'll apologize for...for whatever I did... Wait... What **did** I do? Why should I apologize when I've done nothing wrong?! This is her fault... This is her **fucking** fault... I don't even know why I like her, she's stupid and sensitive and-" Axel stopped his rant, hearing something in the distance. "Is that...crying? Shit, (y/n)."

Axel began sprinting to the source of your helpless cries. "Why did I say all that stuff? I don't mean any of it. I really do like her, and I don't wanna see her-" Axel turned the corner, hearing the cries coming from behind the stairs. He walked around the corner, his heart almost breaking at the sight he saw. "-crying." He finished his sentence as he looked at you, crying your eyes out. You looked up at Axel, and stated crying even more.

"Fuck (y/n)," Axel sighed as he stifled a sniffle and wrapped his arms around you.

"Ow, Axel, get off!" You yelled, trying to shove him off.

"No (y/n), we need to talk. Just let me hold you for-" "NO, you don't understand, you're actually hurting me! It's like you're on fire!" As soon as Axel heard the word "fire", his eyes shot open, and he jumped off you and looked down at himself in horror.

"D-Did you say fire? Like I'm... like I'm hot to the touch? No," Axel fell to the ground, hugging his knees and feeling his palms to check if you were right. "No no no no no. Not again. Please, no. Not with her here. I don't wanna hurt her. Please, please, no."

You sat there, shocked at the sight you were seeing. This big tough senior was having a breakdown right in front of your eyes. You were still utterly pissed at him for earlier, but you also didn't want to see him like that. Not to mention that nothing would get solved if you didn't talk it out. Your decision made, you started to crawl over to the heap of red hair, which was now full on sobbing.

"A-Axel? A-Are you ok?" You noticed how much you were trembling as you stuck your hands out to touch Axel's shaking shoulder. The second you made contact, Axel jumped a mile, and faced you with his hands up like he was being arrested.

"(Y/N) PLEASE, JUST *sniffle* JUST STAY AWAY!" With that, a little ball of fire shot out of Axel's right hand. Luckily, because of the angle at which Axel's hands were at, the ball only hit your shoulder, instead of your face. The fire sizzled right into your (s/c) skin, not having a chance to grow and engulf the rest of you.

You gasped loudly, throwing your hand to your shoulder, and sat back on your butt. The tears were returning now, determined to soak your entire face.

Axel began crying harder than ever before. He crawled over to you, but stopped before he touched you.

His whole world was crumbling around him.

"(Y/n)... (y/n), I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say. I never, ever, meant to hurt you, and I never would. Please forgive me," Axel whispered, looking at the ground. "Please."

The two of you sat there for a little, surrounded by the cries and whimpers produced by the two of you. Finally, Axel spoke up again.

"I'm sorry (y/n). I'll go now." He got up, hugging himself, and began to walk away. Your heart began pounding fast. Did you really want to be left here all alone? Did you really want nothing to do with Axel? Were you really questioning this when you already knew the answer? Taking a deep breath, you called out to the one person who might be more broken than you.

"Axel. Don't go, please. Just... just stay with me for a little... ok?"

Axel froze. He knew he wanted to go back, but he didn't want to hurt you anymore. "(Y/n), I don't know what I would do if I hurt you again. You uh, you mean a lot to me, and I'm not sure if I'm willing to take that risk."

_*you mean a lot to me*_

Your heart skipped a beat; a lump got caught in your throat, even though you were already crying; you looked up at him and waited for him to turn around and face you.

"Axel, I'm not asking anymore. I'm telling you to come back and stay with me."

Axel couldn't take it anymore. He started running to you, slid to the ground, and caught you in an embrace so tight you thought he would never let go. It was hot at first, but as soon as you wrapped your un-burnt arm around him, his entire body cooled down. You both cried to your heart's content, knowing the other wouldn't let you go.

It was a good 5 minutes before Axel pulled away from you. You had both long since stopped crying, but you also didn't want to let each other go. But now, you sat across from each other, looking into the other's eyes. Axel's emerald eyes were happy at first, but then they traveled to your shoulder, and they became miserable. He checked his hand first to be sure it wasn't hot, and then touched you shoulder. You flinched a little, but you nodded him on when he looked at you.

"(Y/n), I'm so sorry. You have no idea. Ever since I was little, whenever I got really frustrated, my whole body would just heat up. I... I never learned how to stop it, so I've always just hidden in a corner when it happened, determined not to hurt anyone. It... It didn't always work... sometimes I would still hurt people... and I would get so freakin' pissed at myself, I would usually run away. But I promise you, I never meant to hurt you. I just... I just lost fucking control. I'm so fucking mad at myself, you have no idea." He ran his hand through his hair, getting more and more stressed with every word he said.

You put your hand on his knee. When he looked up at you, into your (e/c) eyes, you flashed him the biggest smile you could muster. He laughed a little and ruffled your hair, and you were elated to hear the sweet sound of his laugh again.

"Axel," you started, "I know that you didn't mean to hurt me, even with the whole stupid Larxene thing. It's none of my business who you date or kiss or whatever, so-" "Whoa whoa whoa, hold on a minute. Let's get something straight. I'm not dating Larxene, and I've never even had the desire to kiss her. I don't know where that rumor started, but I'm as single as can be and I haven't kissed a girl for a while... well, that last part isn't true, but I definitely haven't ever kissed Larxene. Ok?"

You snorted a little, and then started cracking up. "I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot for believing that. I should've asked you before I flipped out on you, and I'm sorry." You took a second to compose yourself, and then put on a serious face. _'C'mon (y/n), it's now or never.'_ "Um, Axel, can I tell you something?"

"Sure thing kitten."

"First of all, don't call me that. Second of all, I just thought I would let you know, that I uh, I like you. No no no wait, let me do that again. When I see you, I just wanna cuddle and hug and UGH, this is coming out stupid. I get butterflies when I see you... no, that's no good either. Ummm..."

As you were going on your rant, Axel's face turned from a look of sadness (from not being able to call you kitten), to a look of confusion, and then softened into a look of relief. He grabbed your hand, making you blush and stop bumbling like an idiot at the same time. Axel laughed at your blush, running his hand through his hair again.

"Don't worry tiger, I know what you mean. I like you too, like like you, even though you're a freshman. But I'm not one to make someone my girlfriend unless we go out on a date first, ok? So I'll come up with something extravagant, I'll let you know, and then we can see where it goes from there, ok?"

You opened your mouth to reply, but you were so excited and happy that he liked you back that you couldn't find the words to say. You simply nodded your head furiously, hoping the blush would escape your face.

"Good," Axel said, as he leaned into you and gave you a kiss on the cheek. He lingered at your ear for a little though, just long enough to whisper, "And I really like you a lot. Got it memorized?"

You giggled a little and nodded once again. He kissed your cheek again, pulled away from you, and grabbed your hand. "C'mon, let's get back to class before the bell rings so Squall doesn't flip a shit."

The two of you ran back to the gym, ready to explain to everyone what happened. When you got there, Axel went over and apologized to Roxas and Leon. As he was explaining himself to them, everyone else gathered around you, making sure you were ok. You said you were, said everything was ok, and gave a wink to Xion. Xion squealed, knowing what you meant, and dragged Kairi away from the group to explain to her. Zexion noticed your shoulder, got the first aid kit, and started to clean it out and wrap it up. As he was doing this, you looked over to Axel, who was giving Roxas a noogie. Your heart started to flutter as you saw the man you were slowly falling for more and more.

_'Ya, I got it memorized, kitten'_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I wasn't entirely sure how to show it, so when you read something that is in-between these *, it means that it's whispered; usually it's just the person saying it whispering it to themselves, y'know? Okay, sorry if that was confusing. Anyway, enjoy!

"I fucking hate all these damn hearts all over the place!" Axel fumed as he walked into yet another heart hanging down from the ceiling.

"Oh, come on Axel. Where's your festive spirit! I happen to **love** the decorations!" Demyx argued, spreading his arms to show off his heart sweater for emphasis.

Axel and Demyx continued to argue about Valentine's Day until they got to study hall, where they sat at a table together. Axel put his head down with a sigh. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Nighty-night you flamboyant little shit."

"Hang on a second, Ax. Valentine's Day is tomorrow."

"..." Axel waited for Demyx to say something else. When he didn't speak up, Axel lifted his head and gave Demyx a look of annoyance. "...And?"

Demyx sighed. "Aaannnddd, I want to know your plans. You're a ladies' man, you must have girls lining up to take you out."

"Take me out for good maybe..." Axel pulled his finger across his neck to prove his point. Demyx snorted a little and rolled his eyes. "Haha, besides, I can't really think of anyone I would want to go out with." Axel looked at Demyx to see one eyebrow arched, the other furrowed...that look is never good. "Seriously! There aren't any girls I have my eyes on right now!"

"So you're telling me that a certain spunky freshman with (h/c) hair and the prettiest (e/c) eyes I've ever seen means absolutely nothing to you?" Demyx fought.

Axel ran his hand through his hair. Since that week before Christmas, the two of you have been getting closer and closer. Still no dates, and only hanging out in school, but he looked forward to seeing you every day. Unfortunately, every time he thought about asking you out, he thought about your shoulder. How even now, even though it's healed, he can still see the scars he left on you. He knew he didn't want to hurt you again, so for the past 2 weeks, he's been trying to avoid you; trying to stop everything before he gets too attached, before he hurts you again.

_He couldn't hurt you again._

"AXEL!"

Axel jolted out of his daze in an instant. Demyx bursted into laughter at Axel's shocked, horrified, and just plain hilarious expression. Just as Axel stands to give Demyx a piece of his mind, a teacher rounds the corner rapidly.

"Hey! If I hear you two again, I will personally kick you out of here and walk you down to the Dean. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sure do teach," Axel beams, making sure to flip off the teacher when he turns his back to leave. After nodding to himself, he turned his attention back to Demyx. "Look what you did! Now he's gonna be watching us the rest of class you dimwit!"

Demyx opened his mouth to speak, and then stopped. He felt his head, and then turned around to face the window. Axel watched un-entertained as Demyx fixed his hair that had gotten messed up while he was laughing at Axel. Axel tapped has fingers on the table, patiently waiting (for once). Demyx moved one more piece of hair, winked at himself, then turned back to Axel.

"Anyways Axel, I think you should rethink asking (Y/n) out. You don't even have to ask her out; just bring her on a date for Valentine's Day. Then, if things go well, you can take it to the next level, y'know?"

Axel looked down at his palm. He began clenching and un-clenching his fist, imagining an outcome that wasn't very pleasant.

But then he thought of your smile.

Your eyes.

Your hair.

_...Just you..._

"You're right Demy, it can't hurt to try," Axel smiled as he looked up at an excited Demyx.

"Perfect! Okay, it **has** to be a movie date, because I just so happen to work there and I need to stalk you two. I might be able to get you free tickets, or even-"

"Hang on, movies is a good thought, but I have a great idea for asking her to prom," Axel proclaimed with a smug look on his face.

"Prom?! I thought this was just a Valentine's date!?" Demyx exclaimed, extremely confused.

Axel didn't answer, just rested his head in his hand and thought about you. He was being stupid...he liked you too much to just let you go like that...and he was going to prove it to you...today.

~ Same day, 7th period, math class ~

You woke up to a math book being slammed on your desk. As you follow the book's path to its owner, you realize Mr. Luxord, your math teacher, had dropped it. Still a little dazed from your nap, you picked up the book and held it out to the teacher.

"Here ya go, Mr. Luxord, I think you dropped it on my desk," you end with a smile.

Mr. Luxord, being a pretty cool teacher, simply said, "Don't leave when the bell rings," and went back to the front of the class. You stare ahead in confusion and put the book back on your desk. _'I didn't think I'd ACTUALLY get in trouble for falling asleep in class...and what am I supposed to do with this book?'_

Shrugging your shoulders, you put your head in your hand and try to focus on the board. As soon as you think you might be getting it, the bell rings and class is over.

You walk up to Mr. Luxord's desk and, without even waiting for him to look at you, say, "I'm not in trouble right? I really didn't mean to fall asleep, and I was just trying to be polite with the book thing. And if I have to be in trouble then I'll be in trouble, but I just hope you don't hate me, because math is my favorite subject and-" "Alright, alright, that's enough (Y/n). Frankly, I don't have time to stay after school to watch you in detention; I have a poker tournament almost every day after school..." He then hesitated and looked up at you. "No one else needs to know that. Not to mention that I really don't want to stay after. You are one of my favorite, and surprisingly best, students, so don't think I hate you. I just want my students to pay attention in class, okay? Tell you what, I can't just let you off with nothing, so why don't I write a couple problems down with what we learned today in class, and you solve them real quick and then go to your last period class. I'll help you if you don't understand something."

"Okay, that's fair. Thank you Mr. Luxord!" you beam as you rush over to your desk and await the problems. _'I hope I get these done quick, I wanna see if Axel will talk to me today...he's been weird lately...'_

~ Same day, last period, gym class ~

"Axel! You're supposed to STOP THE BALL from going in the net, not just stand there and look pretty!" Mr. Leon shouted from across the gym.

Axel looked up and gave him a thumbs up, although he didn't intend to play goalie at the moment. He was too worried about you. _'She was definitely here today, I saw her walk out of her homeroom class...not that I was looking...' _Axel sighed as yet another ball went past him._ 'I hope she's okay.'  
_  
"Axel, come over here please," Mr. Leon beckoned to Axel. Axel slumped over to his teacher, trying extra hard to not be in a hurry. "Look, you seem more out of it than usual today. Also, you haven't done any physical activity at all today, which is kind of the whole point of gym class. There's about," Mr. Leon looked down at his watch, "10 minutes left of class. I'm gonna have everyone start to clean up, why don't you go run...let's say 5 laps outside, alright? Then everyone will be happy...everyone meaning me. Okay, hop to it!"

Axel left, without even giving one of his usual snarky comments. He hung his head low and dragged himself outside. "...Fuck...fucking shit...where the fuck is she?" Axel started sprinting, for he was getting fired up and he wanted a way to let off steam before he did something he regretted.

~ Meanwhile, in the gym ~

"Hey teach!" you beamed as you waltzed into the gym.

"Well well well, look who finally decided to show up. Do you have a pass, Lone Freshman?" Mr. Leon asked, tapping his foot with an amused look on his face.

You reached into your pocket and produced the pass Mr. Luxord had given you. "~But of course, Mr. Leon. I wouldn't **dare** show up without one~" you said with your best British accent.

Mr. Leon let out a little chuckle. "Good, good. Well, I hate to let you off the hook from gym completely today, so why don't you go run some laps, too. Let's say...5? 5 is good. Now go, before I make you run more."

"Aye, aye captain!" you say, full of enthusiasm and with a hint of pirate.

"And stop with all the accents! You're creeping me out!" Mr. Leon yelled after you as you bolted out of the gym.

As soon as you reach the field, you look around and take in your surroundings. _'Hmmm, I want to walk, but the bell might ring before I finish...what to do, what to do...'_ At that moment, you spot Axel rounding the second corner of the field. _'Haha, he can't escape from me this time!'_ you think as you began bolting across the field, not even worrying about running around it.

By the time you reach the other side of the field, Axel is about 30 feet away, and still unaware that you are out there with him. _'I know,'_ you think, _'I'll jump on his back and force him to carry me the 5 laps! It's perfect!'_

You slow your sprint to a fast walk so that you can stay as quiet as possible. When you get 5 feet behind him, you feel a certain heat coming off him. A familiar heat, one that makes your (e/c) eyes widen in fear. You stop in your tracks and watch Axel, waiting for the worse to happen.

Axel, still not knowing that you're there, takes a sharp right turn. He runs straight up to a tree, stops, takes a deep breath, and then punches with all his might.

His hand, that same hand that hurt you, pushes right through the tree; the immense heat burning the bark like it was nothing.

Axel takes another deep breath, pulls his fist out of the tree, and let's it fall to his side. He sighs, realizing the damage he had just done, and turns around. He keeps his head down, ashamed and fearful of his powers.

You swallow, and work up the courage to make something come out if your mouth.

"A-Ax? Are you okay...are you...stable? Or should I...should I leave..." You back up slowly as you say this, trying to subtly get as far away from him as possible.

Axel's head snapped up when he heard a voice, and when he realized it was you, a look of pure happiness overcame his face. The heat of his powers escaped him instantly, and in its place was a heat that rose to his cheeks, producing a blush. "(Y/n), I'm so glad you're here! I have to talk to you about something!"

Axel waited for you to return the excitement, but you're expression remained the same, one of fear and confusion.

"(Y/n)?" Axel started up again, "You okay?" He watched as your eyes twitched from him to something slightly to the right of him. He followed your shifty eyes, and saw the hole he had just recently created. "Oh, I'm **so** sorry (Y/n). I didn't know you were there. You must've snuck up on me or something, I had no fucking idea. **Had** I known I never would've done that. Actually, I wouldn't have even been mad, *considering **you** were the entire reason I was mad* …But I **didn't** know you were there so I **was** mad and…I was just aggravated and I wasn't sure if I was gonna see you at all today and it was _so important_ that I saw you today. Not to mention Demyx was annoying the **hell** outta me but then he **helped** me and my mind is racing around in circles right now and and...oh! I'm fine now! I was heated up a second ago, as you can probably tell, but once I saw you it just...melted away," Axel ended his rant with a smile, looking longingly at you; this innocent girl that seemed to make everything okay. He walked slowly up to you and slid your hands into his. "I'm sorry I scared you. Are you okay now?"

The minute Axel had smiled at you, you knew you were okay; you knew he was okay. A blush had crept up to your face when he wrapped his hands around yours, for you never thought that this hard-hitting senior would ever show this sort of sweet affection. Your (e/c) eyes shifted to the ground as your blush spread more and more across your face. "I," you clear your throat, "I'm okay. I'm good. I'm great."

Axel let out a sigh of relief, glad that he could finally ask you what he had wanted to the whole time. Your eyes widen as a giant hand full of warm comfort cups the side of your face. Axel lifts your head up to him, so that you're staring right into those serene emerald eyes.

"Go to the movies with me tonight? I'd be really happy if you would be my valentine, and if you say yes, then I'd like to spend the rest of the day with you..." Axel fidgeted and shifted his gaze for a second; afraid for the first time that he would get rejected. As he turned back to you, he produced a very large and goofy grin. "So, hopefully-soon-to-be-valentine, is it a date?"

You stiffen up, realizing that this is the moment you have been waiting for since you first laid eyes on him; a chance for him to be yours; a chance for you to be his. _'Oh shit! Is this really happening?! Should I try to answer all cute or should I go for a more sexy approach... hmmm... no, I should just be myself.'_

"Tell you what," you start off, relaxing with every word and your mouth forming into a smile. "If you give me a piggyback for the whole 5 laps, then I'll be your valentine and go to the movies with you."

Axel stares at you blankly for a second, and then throws his head back in laughter.

"Alright sport, you got yourself a deal."


	5. Chapter 5

"Tell me again why you invited ME over to help you with your date?" Saïx inquired, lounging on Axel's bed as Axel changed in his closet. "I've never even gone on a date, so how could I _possibly_ help you."

"Because man," Axel yelled from behind the door, "you actually have a sense of style. If Roxas came over he would probably tell me to wear all red to match my hair or something." Axel stroked his chin, looking for the other shoe to complete his pair. "Oh fuck it, I'll find it later."

Axel opened the door to his closet and leaned against the door frame, his jacket flung over his shoulder. "Hey little lady, wanna take a spin with a bad boy?" Axel ended with a wink.

Saïx looked at Axel with a blank expression on his face. He got up from his comfortable position and headed for the door, saying, "You look fine, good luck." And with that, he was on his way out the door.

"You could at least pretend to laugh!" Axel shouted out the window when Saïx emerged outside. Saïx gave a little wave, not even looking back, and walked away.

Axel shook his head, a smirk eminent on his face, and turned around to face his room again. He took a long, shaky breath in, and let it out in a loud sigh. "When the hell do I ever get nervous about dates? This girl...I don't know what she's doing to me."

Taking a quick look at his watch, he noticed the time, ran downstairs to grab his other shoe, and got in his car to go pick you up, repeatedly muttering "shit" under his breath. He was going to be fashionably late.

~Your house~

As excited as you were, you didn't want to try too hard to impress him. He knows who you are and he knows how you dress, and if you tried to change that? Well, Axel may lose interest in you completely. Or make fun of you. Probably the latter.

However, you did have a really cute outfit you hadn't worn yet and we're absolutely dying to. So, at the moment you were looking in the mirror, making sure everything was in place and looked good. Your cat tights were complimented nicely by the (f/c) skirt and white tank top you had on. Over that you had an adorable cardigan on, which really pulled it all together.

You were just starting to put away all the reject clothes you had pulled out when the doorbell rang. Luckily, your parents were already out on their Valentine's date, so you didn't have to worry about them bombarding poor Axel with questions.

You gulped. It was finally happening. He asked you out, he was here to pick you up, now all you had to do was not mess it up...easy enough, right? _'This is gonna be tough,'_ you thought, opening your front door.

You felt your whole face heat up. _'Holy fucking shit, he looks good!'_ your mind yelled. And boy were your thoughts on point.

Axel was standing there, hands in his pockets, in all his glory. He had a nice leather jacket on, unzipped so you could see his black button down and red tie. His white skinny jeans fit him perfectly, and were nicely highlighted by his signature bright yellow Converse. He even had a nice watch on.

Axel looked at you for just as long as you had looked at him, until he finally shook out of his daze. Clearing his throat, he reached for his back pocket and pulled out a single red rose, adding a quiet, "M'lady," as he held it out to you.

"Thanks Axel! It's really pretty. Hang on a sec while I put it in a vase," you exclaimed, already turning back into your house.

"I'm gonna wait by the car!" Axel yelled back, earning a thumbs up from you. "Heh, silly girl. She does look cute though..."

After finding a nice thin vase, you locked the door to your house and walked towards Axel's car, which was pretty nice. Really nice, actually. In fact, it was a red sports car, and a fairly new one at that. He opened the passenger door for you, to which you whispered a "Thank you" and slid into the car. Axel jogged around to the other side and got in himself. He started his car and was about to leave when he felt someone watching him.

"What?" Axel questioned, looking at the dumb smile on your face.

"Your car matches your hair," you noted, your smile growing.

"Aanndd, the moment is ruined," Axel concluded as he pulled out of your street and towards the movies, earning a laugh from you.

~Movie Theater~

The moment the two of you walked into the movie theater, Demyx bolted over and gave a little bow. Straightening up and clearing his throat, he claimed, "I will now escort thou to thy seateths." Turning quick on his heel, he began marching toward the theater the movie would be showing in.

You leaned over to Axel, tugging him down a little so you could whisper in his ear, "Don't we have to pay for tickets? And I don't think Demyx used those words correctly."

Axel gave a smug smirk, simply stating, "I know a guy," and nodding in Demyx's direction. Then after a second, he added, "Don't tell him his word choice was wrong. I can just picture him crying about how he spent a half hour online reading how to be proper. Best to leave it alone."

Satisfied with Axel's answer, you smiled and gave a happy sigh, excited to watch the movie from the front row, which you had just been escorted to. On the screen, it read, "Wait for the credits to end for a special surprise." Just as the lights went down, a large hand grasped yours and held on tight.

~End of movie~

A good amount of people were crying and watching the credits go by in the theater. The movie was very good, but it took a lot for a movie to make you cry. You assumed all the people in the theater were waiting to see the surprise at the end of the credits. Unknown to you, everyone except for you knew the surprise (they were informed before), for Demyx didn't want to "Get their hopes up for nothing."

Axel leaned over to you and whispered, "Wait here," before jumping up and running out the theater.

You looked dumbfounded, unsure of what was going on. _'He's gonna miss the surprise,'_ you thought, seeing the credits come to the end.

The final name went by, followed by a few clicking sounds. Suddenly, a video starting playing, and the man in said video was none other than your Valentine's date. You leaned forward in your seat, intrigued as to what was happening.

"Is it recording?" Axel said on screen. "It is? Good, okay. Hey (Y/n), I'm sure you're pretty confused right now, but I need you to understand something. You are very important to me. You make me a better person. Every day that goes by without you in it seems like a lost day. For a little while there, I thought I could live without you, but I was wrong. I need you in my life. I don't know what may happen in the future, but I want to be with you here and now. That being said, I have two questions for you."

"_Will you be my girlfriend and be my perfect date to prom?"_

You jumped, turning to your right to see Axel standing next to you, holding more roses. He had said the last part in sync with the video. The video flickered off on screen as you stared at him.

Scratching the back of his head, he said, "There are eleven roses here...that way you can add them to your other rose at home and have a whole bouquet..." There was a blush forming as he swallowed hard and tried to smile at you.

All was silent. People in the audience began to worry you weren't going to accept his proposal. Axel began to worry you weren't going to accept his proposal. He started to fidget uncomfortably.

Suddenly seeing Axel's incessant fidgeting made you realize that you not answering him must be freaking him out. Unable to hold your excitement anymore, you jumped out of your seat and into his arms. The roses fell to the ground, but neither or you cared. You held each other tightly, as the people in the theater clapped and slowly dissipated, relieved everything had worked out.

In the heat of the moment, Axel lifted you up bridal style and began a mad dash for his car. He put you in and began to drive you back to your house. You looked over at him wide-eyed and shocked, asking, "Trying to get rid of me already?" Axel didn't respond, staying quiet and staring straight ahead the whole ride home, quite different from the way there.

Pulling up to your house, Axel put the car in park and sat there. You looked around at anything but him, unsure of what was happening. _'He just asked me out and to prom, and now he's not talking to me? What is going on?'_

Your thoughts were interrupted by your hand being pulled up to Axel's hot lips. When you looked over at him, he lowered your hand and whispered, "I'm sorry. When I get overwhelmed, I like to go driving. I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and drive you back to your place while everything settles in my head. I feel like I ruined the moment by rushing out and-" "Yes."

Axel gave you a surprised look, then shook his head and chuckled, adding, "Yeah, I guess I did ruin it."

"No no no," you reassured him. "I never actually answered you, so I am now. I would love to be your date to prom, and I would love it even more if I was your girlfriend. Don't think you ruined anything, I don't think you could tonight if you tried. Well, I'm pretty sure the roses are still on the theater floor, but that's okay, I still have the one, which is enough for me. But I really should get going, so thank you for tonight, and I'll text you later, okay?" You giggled and pecked his cheek, then hopped out of his car and ran to your house.

_'Holy shit, I can't believe I just did that! It must be the all the adrenaline pumping through me right now... Oh well, who cares. It happened and I'm glad it did, and now I have to sleep.'_ You skipped up the stairs to your room, quickly changed into pajamas, and cuddled in with your favorite stuffed animal. You drifted off into sleep, a smile plastered on your face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: There is swearing and abuse in this!**

Life was finally looking up.

Axel strolled into his house after his successful date with you. He was grinning ear to ear, which is why as soon as he walked past the living room, he received a, "Hold it," from his father and a, "Come over here," from his mother. Axel rolled his eyes a little but turned right around and went into the living room. He looked at his parents. His mom was covered with freckles, with blonde hair and a petite build. His dad had a stern look to him, but he had the softest blue eyes Axel had ever seen. He was much taller than his wife, even taller than Axel. His parents made kind of an odd pair, but their personalities melded perfectly; they were meant for each other.

"What's up?" Axel asked, plopping on the couch.

His parents exchanged a glance, then his mother burst into a huge smiling and began bouncing in her seat. "How did it go?! Your big date with your dream girl! Oh, it took all my self-control to not call you before you got back! I've been itching to know!"

Axel chuckled a little, and scratched the back of his head, a habit he'd developed when he was nervous or embarrassed. "Umm, it went alright," he mumbled.

His mother stopped bouncing instantly and stared at him in horror. "Just alright?" she whimpered.

Axel stood and walked to the doorway. "Hey Ma, you can't expect too much from a first date," Axel explained. Before maneuvering upstairs however, he muttered a quick, "But we are dating now," then bolted away.

He heard his mother squeal and his father try to match her excitement. He shook his head at his comedic parents, finally entering the sanctuary of his room.

He quickly stripped of his clothes, save for his boxers, and slipped into bed.

Axel was as happy as he could be, but he's dream were far from pleasant.

~~~

Axel was thrown into the middle of his parents; they were yelling at each other. For some reason, he was extremely small, only about the size of their feet. Axel, not wanting to listen to the ever-growing confrontation, curled into a ball on the floor. He waited for the shouting to stop. He could feel himself heating up.

When he looked up, he could see his father towering over him. He turned around to see his mother crying. When he looked back, his father was gone, leaving a lone door in the middle of darkness. The door shrunk down to Axel's current size. Axel opened the door and peeked around inside.

It was his grandparents' house. He felt a little nudge behind him pushing him into the house. He whipped his head around, seeing the back of his mom, walking away. He cried out to her, but she didn't turn around.

His grandparents walked up to Axel, telling him they were going to the zoo. Axel loved the zoo, and hoped going would make him feel better.

The car stopped in front of a dark building, rain pouring down around them. Axel's grandparents led him into the building, which very clearly was not the zoo. The sign on the top read "Orphanage". When they opened the door, there was nothing inside; it was just a gigantic hole.

His grandparents began cackling maniacally. They shoved him through the doorway. Axel tripped through and began falling, falling, falling. He saw his grandparents waving at him, both with evil smiles on their faces.

When he finally landed, he was in tears. He took a deep breath and looked up, seeing 4 doors in front of him, each labeled with a number.

Axel shakily stood up, and headed for door number 1. He entered the room.

The room was full of children his age, but none of them looked happy; most of them looked quite sickly. He looked at the surroundings; the people who owned this house clearly had a hoarding problem...or just never cleaned.

Axel began to feel sickly himself, just from breathing in all the fumes. He saw a man and a woman on a couch, both smoking and drinking, not paying attention to any of the children they had in their house.

Someone knocked on the door. Seeing that no one else would answer it, Axel limped to the door, the environment taking its effects on him. When he opened the door, there were two men standing outside. One of them bent down, handed Axel his card, and whispered, "We're going to get you out of here tiger." As soon as he said that, a hole opened beneath Axel, and he fell through.

He landed back in the room with 4 doors. He didn't want to go through anymore, but he didn't really have a choice. He went through the second door.

This time it was just a man in the room. He was talking about Axel's ability. How did he know about that? The man was trying to force Axel to use his powers. He said he wouldn't let Axel leave until he did. He locked Axel in the basement and wouldn't feed him, let him use the bathroom, or even acknowledge him until he used his powers.

Axel was having an internal conflict. He needed to get out but he didn't want to use his power. However, he knew it needed to be done, else he would die down there.

He summoned his caretaker down to the basement, assuring him he would use his powers. When the man came down, Axel reluctantly controlled his powers, and burned the man's legs; Axel didn't want to be a murderer, he just wanted to get out.

He ran upstairs and called the number on the card he received earlier. The man arrived to find Axel in the corner, crying. Axel told him not to come near him, that he was a monster, but the man approached him anyways. He bent down and explained, "This wasn't your fault kiddo. Let's get you outta here."

He led Axel out the door, but when he stepped outside, Axel realized he was in the room with the doors again. Two more to go. He built up some courage and stalked towards the third door, looking around with every step, becoming very paranoid. He opened the third door and stepped through.

He walked into a pretty nice looking house, a thousand times better looking than the first one he was in, and he wasn't stuck in the basement either. He walked around, looking for someone, anyone, to console him. He heard his name called in the distance. It was a woman's voice. He ran to it.

He found her sitting on the living room couch. Her voice sounded nice enough, but as soon as she started talking to Axel, it became very clear that the words coming out were not nice at all. She called him worthless, a fuck-up, a freak, a loser, a no-good piece of shit. And that was just the beginning. She also told him that no one would ever love someone as hideous and monstrous as him. Axel eyes started tearing up, which caused the woman to call for her husband.

A man walked into the living room, a belt in hand. He dragged Axel away, bruising his arm, and brought him into the bathroom. Once there, Axel was spanked. And not just with the belt, but the man also punched Axel in the face and shoved him in the toilet. The abuse kept going on and on, until the woman called for dinner. Axel was left on the bathroom floor in a pool of his own blood.

He heard sirens. There was a commotion outside. Someone opened the bathroom door. It was the same guy from the other two houses, the one that called him tiger and kiddo.

The man bent down and picked Axel up. "Don't worry champ, we won't let this happen again." Axel closed his eyes, finally feeling safe.

He opened them a minute later to find himself in the room with the 4 doors again.

He was relieved there was only one room left, but terrified of what could be behind the last one.

Axel forced himself up, and trudged his way to the last door, the one labeled with a "4". He walked through it.

A blinding light hit Axel, and when his eyes finally adjusted, he saw two people stranding in front of him; a man and a woman. The woman had the most freckles Axel had ever seen, and the man's eyes were extremely blue. They opened their arms to him.

Axel felt an overwhelming desire to trust them. He ran towards them. The light began taking over his sight again before he made it to them, but he knew he made it, because he felt something he hadn't felt for a very long time. He felt love.

~~~

The red-head woke with a start from his nightmare. Although it had ended nice, he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier in the dream. He was sweating and breathing heavy like he had just run a marathon. He caught his bearings, and slowly he laid his head in his hands, semi-curling into a fetal position.

"I wish that that was only a nightmare," he whispered to no one.


	7. Chapter 7

You walked into school on Monday ready for the stresses of Prom week. Everyone was always rushing around for a last minute date, dress, tux, or excuse not to go. Luckily, your date had already asked you and your dress was sitting in your closet at home. But just because you were prepared didn't mean you weren't going to be stressed. You knew well and good that everyone would be coming to you with their problems, and you were too nice to say no. That being said, you were a little shocked when you walked to your locker to find that it was already open, and someone was hiding behind the door.

You strolled up and tapped the intruder on the shoulder. Kairi let out a little squeal, then whipped her head around to see who had disturbed her.

"Oh, (Y/n)! It's just you..." Kairi settled back into position, seemingly watching someone.

"Well it _is_ my locker," you mentioned, but she was already entranced in her prey. You peeked around your locker, too, trying to find what was so interesting. "Hey Kairi, what are we looking at?"

Kairi threw her hand over your mouth, using her other hand to point at Sora, who was frantically trying to finish his first period homework. The moment you saw who she was pointing to, you understood; Kairi must be waiting for Sora to ask her to prom.

You pulled her hand off your mouth, whispering, "Really? He _still_ hasn't asked you? What a dweeb." You thought for a moment, then added, "Do you want me to talk to him?"

Kairi replied with a long and drawn out, "Noooooo," which meant she wanted you to. You grabbed the books you need from your locker, told Kairi to shut the door when she was done being a creep, then you walked up to Sora.

You snatched the homework from Sora's hand and filled in all the answers with rapid speed, having just done it on the bus yourself. You handed it back to him, stating, "We need to talk."

Sora gave you a huge smile, exclaiming, "Anything for you after helping me like that!"

"Good," you nodded, "then who are you asking to prom?"

Sora stared at you; not blinking, not breathing. His eyes widened as he finally yelled, "PROM IS _THIS_ FRIDAY!?"

Before you could even finish nodding your head, Sora shouted again, "WHERE IS KAIRI?!"

You slyly pointed over to your locker, where you could still see her blue eyes watching you. Sora bolted over to you locker. You watched the scene for a little, which consisted of a lot of apologies and finally a hug, and then you sighed to yourself, "My work here is done."

You then felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned around to see Axel, instantly getting butterflies. You shifted your books in your arms, whispering a, "Hi Axel."

"Hey pumpkin," he exclaimed, "Want me to carry your books for you?"

"No no, it's fine! I can carry them," you smiled.

He gave a little chuckle. "Alright then, can I at least walk you to class?"

"Sure!" you grinned, grabbing his hand, "My first class is this way."

You and Axel walked down the hall together, hand in hand. The two of you walked in comfortable silence for a little, until Axel spoke up.

"Are you excited for prom?"

"Of course I am!" you exclaim, "Most of my friends are seniors, so it'll be fun to hang out with them all night."

"I'm just happy that I'm going with you."

Your eyes widened as you looked up at a smiling Axel. Your cheeks started burning up. You looked away quickly, mumbling, "I'm really happy I'm going with you too."

Axel let out a chuckle at your antics and squeezed your hand.

The rest of the time was consisted of playful banter, until you reached your first period classroom. It was a nice little walk, and it's little things like that that really made you happy you were finally dating Axel.

He pulled you into a hug while you were lost in thought, and placed a little peck on your cheek. "I'll see you at lunch." And with that, he was off.

You put your hand up to your cheek, sighing at him as he walked away. You were enjoying watching him walk away until you were violently pulled into your classroom, just as the bell rang. Xion flicked you on the forehead, calling you a "Dummy" under her breath.

You both sat down in your respective seats, anxiously awaiting the teacher to send you off to your labs so that you could talk to each other. It took a good 15 minutes, but the class was finally set free to get into partners and start their lab reports. You and Xion bolted to the lab table all the way in the back of the room.

"Finally, I thought that lecture was never going to end. He wasn't even talking about Chemistry! Just stupid dress code and how we need to stop ignoring it...Anyways, I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay," you agreed, "Is it anything bad?"

"No! Just plans for prom, silly! All the girls and guys are gonna meet up separately beforehand to get ready, and then we will all meet at the prom. Some of the guys are going stag, but they're all in our friend group so we don't want them to feel left out, y'know?" Xion concluded.

You nodded your head in agreement. "Yeah, I think that's a great idea! Whose house are we meeting at?"

"Kairi's. Her parents aren't going to be home so we don't have to worry about any distractions there."

"Okay, awesome! We should probably get started on this lab. We haven't finished the past 3 he's assigned."

"Bleh, alright. I just hate Chem..." Xion laid her head on the table in misery, shooing you off to go get everything the two of you needed. You jumped up and started gathering everything, excited about prom being so close and all the plans falling into place.

~Prom Night~

It was about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. You, Xion, Kairi, and Naminè, Riku's date from another school, had just arrived at Kairi's house with dresses and makeup in tow. It was time to get down to business.

You all helped each other with hair and makeup. It was really nice to hang out with everyone, and Naminè was really sweet! The venue where the prom was being held at was about an hour away, and by the time everyone was finished getting ready, it was about 5 o'clock. Each of the girls put on their dresses and took a few photos before hopping in the car and heading to prom. You all agreed that a limo was a little too over the top, so the group piled into a little car and jammed the whole way to prom.

You pulled up to the beautiful setting of prom just on time to get checked in. Kairi had been texting Sora and they were still about 10 minutes out, so you all decided to check in now instead of waiting.

Apparently, because there were a few more guys than girls, the guys ended up renting a limo. You were starting to get really excited, for you realized that you had never seen Axel dressed up, let alone in a tuxedo! And watching him step out of a limo like that...your butterflies were back again, and with a vengeance.

Kairi turned around to face the group, shouting, "They're pulling up!"

The four of you bolted to the parking lot. A white limo was rounding the corner, which you could only assume was full of 8 of your guy friends, and 1 boyfriend of course.

The door opened and out came the group of handsomely dressed gentleman. You looked at all of them, admiring how nice they all cleaned up. But something was missing...

"Where's Axel?" you asked, mostly pointing the question towards Roxas and Saïx.

"I believe he's taking his own car," Saïx assured, "I thought he'd be here by now though..."

"Oh, okay. Well, there's no point waiting out here! Let's go in now!" you exclaimed, eager to start dancing as soon as possible.

Your whole group piled into the venue. The girls waited for the guys to sign in, then you all went in and took over 2 tables.

And then the music started.

~2 hours later~

The bathroom is always a nice place to cry.

You had been telling yourself all night that you weren't gonna let the fact that Axel stood you up get you down, but after two hours of looking to the door every time you heard it open and everyone telling you he was a jerk or he would show up eventually, you decided a good cry might do you some good.

_knock knock_

"(Y/n)?"

You were a bit confused at first when you heard your name, expecting a girl to be in there.

"Roxas?" you sniffled and wiped your nose, "What are you doing in here, this is the girl's bathroom?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm here to help you out. Also, Xion and Kairi are watching the door...Can I come in?"

You happened to be in the handicap stall, so there would be plenty of room for the two of you. You walked to the stall door and unlocked it. Roxas pushed it open, and after giving you a pitiful look, he pulled you into a hug.

You cried a little more in Roxas' arms, half because of Axel, and half because you were so happy to have such a good friend like Roxas.

When he heard you starting to calm down, he pulled away a little.

"You wanna go dance with me?" he whispered, wiping your tears with his coat.

You couldn't help but smile as you accepted his offer, and you walked out of the bathroom hand in hand. You gave a small smile to Kairi and Xion, while Roxas threw them a thumbs up.

The two of you walked in at the beginning of a slow song, and you happily slow danced with you best friend. Roxas was humming along to the song the whole time, causing a smile to grow on your face.

The song ended. You were a little sad, but very grateful to Roxas for being there for you.

"Thank you Roxas, you have no idea how much this means to me. I'm gonna go outside to get some air, okay?"

"Anytime (Y/n). Let me know if you wanna dance again, okay?"

"Okay Roxas."

He gave you a kiss on the forehead before letting you go. As you were walking to the door, you started feeling much better.

_'I have so many friends who love me,' _you thought, _'so there's no point in being upset about something so stupid.'_

You opened the door to some nice crisp air. It was a little cold considering you had a dress on, but it felt kind of nice.

You looked around a bit, hugging your arms and taking in the beautiful scenery.

_'Maybe I'll take Roxas up on his offer, so long as Xion doesn't mind.'_

Then your heart stopped. There was no mistaking that red car, nor the well dressed red head who was lying on the hood of it, smoking.

Infuriated, you begin stomping across the parking lot and to the car.

_'This better be a good fucking excuse.'_

**Author's Note:** Just because I thought it was funny, below is what my first idea for this chapter was. And yes, all of my chapters start out like this ^^

((Start off you talking to one of the girls. They say the guys and girls are going separately to prom. You like "um okay". In school Axel walks you to class and is being really cute and is like "ye prahm" cause prahm is that night. You go and get ready and stuff and then all the girls get in a limo and go. You get to prom before the guys. Guys arrive and you wait but Axel doesn't get out/isn't there. Everyone is like "er meh gerd I'm so sorreh" and you cry in the bathroom. Roxas goes in (CAUSE HE LOVES YOU ENOUGH TO GO INTO GIRLS ROOM (he also has Xion amnd Kairi watching the door soooo)). Roxas says things and then is like "Come back out, I'll dance with you". So you get out of bathroom and dance with Roxas (he doesn't like you romantically, just best friends). You thank him and everyone and then say you want to go get some air. You walk out front (this is like 2 hours into prom) and you see Axel sitting on the hood of his car, smoking. END IT THERE BY YOU WALKING UP TO HIM SAYING "This better be a good fucking excuse"))


End file.
